Recent News

Important Information

Public comment is being sought on the following proposed Medical Board rules filed with the Common Sense Initiative Office. The Business Impact Analysis and the proposed rules can be found by clicking on the links below.

Comments on any of the rules should be submitted no later than October 16, 2017 to both the Medical Board (Sallie.Debolt@med.ohio.gov) and the Common Sense Initiative Office (csipubliccomments@governor.ohio.gov).

Our licensees are invited to join us for a statewide, collaborative meeting about the opioid epidemic in Ohio and the need for a continuum of care for addiction treatment. At this event, we ask you to share your thoughts with other health care leaders from across Ohio as we work to incorporate opioid treatment and evidence-based practices in a range of health care settings.

September 25, 2017, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Ohio State University’s 4-H conference center, Columbus

-or-

One of 18 additional live-stream locations across Ohio

The opioid epidemic and consequences of substance abuse are devastating the country. We must do more to end this epidemic. The continuum of care models exist to deal with substance abuse, opioid abuse and prescription pill abuse. This conference will highlight best practices, American Society of Addiction Medicine’s (ASAM) Standards of Care, community partnerships and replicable models currently in practice.

AMA Credit Designation Statement:

The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit (s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ACCME Accreditation Statement:

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of The American Society of Addiction Medicine and The Office of the Attorney General of Ohio, Substance Use and Populations Health Initiatives. The American Society of Addiction Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The date of the next Cosmetic Therapy exam is Friday, October 20, 2017. The application must be submitted before 5 p.m. on Friday, October 6, 2017. Click here for information and to submit an application.

Effective August 31, 2017, the State of Ohio will have new rules for prescribing opioid analgesics for the treatment of acute pain. Please be advised, these rules DO NOT apply to the use of opioids for the treatment of chronic pain. Click here to watch the educational video/overview.

In general, the rules limit the prescribing of opioid analgesics for acute pain, as follows:

No more than seven days of opioids can be prescribed in the initial prescription for adults.

No more than five days of opioids can be prescribed in the initial prescription for minors, and only after the written consent of the parent or guardian is obtained.

Health care providers may prescribe opioids in excess of the day supply limits only if they provide a specific reason in the patient’s medical record.

Except as provided for in the rules, the total morphine equivalent dose (MED) of a prescription for acute pain cannot exceed an average of 30 MED per day.

The new limits do not apply to opioids prescribed for cancer, palliative care, end-of-life/hospice care or medication-assisted treatment for addiction.

NOTE: These rules do not apply to veterinarians.

Starting December 29, 2017, rule 4729-5-30 will require prescribers to include the first four characters (ex. M16.5) of the diagnosis code (ICD-10) or the full procedure code (Current Dental Terminology - CDT) on opioid prescriptions, which will be entered by the pharmacy into Ohio’s prescription monitoring program, OARRS. This requirement will take effect for all other controlled substance prescriptions on June 1, 2018. NOTE: This requirement does not apply to veterinarians.

Starting December 29, 2017, rule 4729-5-30 will also require prescribers to indicate the days’ supply on all controlled substance and gabapentin prescriptions. NOTE: This requirement does not apply to veterinarians.

To assist prescriber’s in calculating a patient’s morphine equivalent dose, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has developed a conversion chart that can be accessed here: www.pharmacy.ohio.gov/MEDtable.

Nursing Board

Pharmacy Board

4729-5-30 - Manner of issuance of a prescription. (NOTE: This rule will not go into effect until December 29, 2017. The Board has adopted a resolution regarding the diagnosis/procedure code provisions of this rule: www.pharmacy.ohio.gov/AcuteResolution)

Prescribing Opioids for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

As a reminder, Ohio developed guidelines for the treatment of chronic pain using opioids. These guidelines can be accessed here.

For More Information

If you are a prescriber, please contact your respective regulatory board using the information below.

The date of the next Cosmetic Therapy exam is Monday, August 21, 2017. The application must be submitted before 5 p.m. on Monday, August 7, 2017. Click here for information and to submit an application.

Physician Assistant Supervision Agreements in eLicense

ODH Grant Funding Opportunity

OARRS Connects with Pennsylvania

Monthly Formal Action Report

The date of the next Cosmetic Therapy exam is Monday, August 21, 2017. The application must be submitted before 5 p.m. on Monday, August 7, 2017. Click here for information and to submit an application.